The Kirghiz Steppes - Chapter 5

The Kirghiz Steppes

By Mctrip7

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Suspense, Angst, Romance
Archive: Trip
Disclaimer: I understand that all the characters belong to Paramount and will not be sold.
Summary: It only takes a moment . . .

Chapter 5

Maman and Katya were finishing the dishes as Maman said, “You and Sergi attend to your studies. You must improve your grades, Sergi, as you will be getting ready for college very soon. And Katya, you will be graduating from the Upper Classes, too.

Katya frowned, but she turned to her brother and said “Come on, it’s got to be done!”

Trip and Alexi had gone to the barn to take care of the animals.

“Alexi, what happened last Spring?” asked Trip.

“Some people we knew in Pavlodar were there one day and gone the next! The sheriff, who we think is one of the “Others”, said they made some kind of a business deal, and had to leave in a hurry. Ever so often he says he hears from them and they are doing fine. No one else has heard a word from any of the family.”

“What do you think happened to them?” Trip asked.

“I don’t know; but it is strange that none of their family ever came to claim their belongings or the property, either. It’s getting harder and harder to tell the “Others” from regular citizens. I wonder if they have convinced our neighbors to join them.”

Trip seemed deep in thought when Alexi looked up at him. “Having a flashback, Trip?”

“Something is just out of my grasp,” Trip answered. “I seem to remember people being moved from one place to another against their will, but I can’t remember where or why.
I hope your dad can shed some light on it when he gets home.”

Later, Anna came by. Trip was relieved to see that she was okay.

Anna asked “What’s going on? My father hurried out of the house a while ago without eating his dinner. He said they were having an emergency meeting.”

Trip guided her out the door saying “I’ll tell you what I know.” As he gave her the details, he could see the alarm in her expression.

“Oh, Trip. It’s just like what happened last Spring. Did you find a note of any kind, a message?”

Trip put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. He could feel her trembling.

“Let me get you a coat,” he whispered.

“No, don’t leave. Just hold me tight until I get hold of myself. What’s happening to us? I’m even getting paranoid when my friends ask me questions. I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

“I don’t think anything’s going to happen to this family. Yours either. I do think we need to be cautious, though. Just continue to go about your day as usual. There seems to be some passage of time between disappearances; so maybe we’ll have some answers before it happens again.” Trip tried to sound convincing, but he didn’t feel all that sure about his assessment.

Trip guided her to the swing on the big porch. Picking up Lara’s shawl which she had left there, he wrapped it around Anna’s shoulders.

“Oh, that feels good,” she said as she snuggled up to him.

“You know, we really don’t know what tomorrow holds,” Trip whispered in her ear. “I’ve been giving it some serious thought. I love you, Anna. I know you don’t know much about me – I don’t either! But I know I love you and I could take care of you. I seem to know a lot about machines; so we could move to Moscow and I’m sure I could get a job there . . .

“Oh, Trip, you’re such a lovable guy. I don’t know of anyone I’d rather spend my life with; but we’ve got to resolve these mysteries before we can make any plans. I think my father is in real danger. He makes light of it, but I know THEY have questioned him severely more than once. They suspect that he and Dr. Chekov have some very influential contacts in the government; so they keep a low profile around here.”

“Is that a ‘yes’ or a “maybe”? Trip lifted her face to his and kissed her gently on the lips.

Anna could feel all her willpower melting away. “Oh, Trip, you do such strange things to me . . . I do love you so much . . . She felt her blouse being unbuttoned, but she really didn’t want him to stop. His firm hands were so gentle as he caressed her body. His lips found hers again. This time he opened his as he invaded her waiting mouth. The satisfaction was intoxicating.

As he released her, he whispered “Anna, you belong with me. I need you. We don’t have to go anywhere, we can stay right here until everything is cleared up.” He took her in his arms again and held her close to him. “I can’t imagine not being with you.”

“Oh, there you are! Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” It was Alexi, and he was glad it was nighttime; so they couldn’t see how red his face was.

“Your timing is bad, Alexi, Is everything okay inside?” Trip asked. “ We’ll be in, in a few minutes.”

Alexi made a hasty exit and both Trip and Anna had to snicker. “He’ll be so embarrassed tomorrow.”

“Lets keep this to ourselves for the time being.” Anna whispered to Trip. “Lets see what the men have to say about their meeting tonight.”

Reluctantly, Trip agreed. He knew they needed to hear what had been discussed at the meeting. “I’m not giving up, you know.”

“I’m not either,” Anna said as she stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The meeting, according to Dr. Chekov had been a rather subdued one. Everyone had something to report; but the Korbet house was a surprise to most of them.

“We can’t just sit here and let them pick us off one by one,” said Mr. Rostov, who ran the local auto repair shop. “They’re bound to know we’re suspicious.

Anton’s colleague, Dr. Pavel Asimov, spoke up. “We still have to continue as usual and keep a low profile. In the meantime we can be preparing to visit relatives elsewhere, packing what we need and even sending the children on ahead.”

“I think we should stay right here and fight for what is ours,” challenged Ivan Puttin, the owner of the bookstore. “If enough of us stand up against them, we can get rid of them in a hurry.”

Dr. Chekov interrupted, saying “We have stood up against them and gotten nowhere. “Ivan, we have additional information. There are over three hundred of ‘them’ in this area. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Retelling it now, Anton felt drained. “I was surprised at how few knew the extent of the “Others” infiltration. Once aware, they seemed like scared animals – not knowing whether to run or stand and fight.

“Sergi, you and your sister continue your courses; however, do come directly home when they let out.”

“Alexi you and I will continue our work at the hospital. Maybe we can pick up a few supplies now and then.”

“Lara, keep our line of communication open. We depend on you women to keep everyone on their toes. And Trip you’ll be our security man around the farm. Just continue with your chores, but keep your eyes peeled.”

“Alexi , you and Sergi come with me now to the Korbet house. We’ll see if we can find any clue as to where they’ve gone.”

“Dr. Chekov, why don’t I go with you and let the boys stay here,” Trip said as he came up out of his chair.

“Son, this isn’t your worry. We have to be ready to assume responsibility for our existence here. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this. Some of our neighbors will be along later; and I’ll feel much better knowing that you’re looking after the girls here.
We should be back in a couple of hours,” Dr. Chekov said as he headed out the door.

Trip couldn’t help showing his disappointment. The last few weeks, he had been doing manual labor, and even getting in some baseball and soccer with the boys. He really felt in top shape, but he knew this was Dr. Chekov’s call.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As the Chekovs neared the Korbet farm, they saw an eerie glow in the hills to the East. It came and went in intensity, but it didn’t seem to be moving toward them. Alexi turned the car lights off as they turned into the road leading to the farmhouse. There was enough moonlight to make out the road. They parked under a tree. Dr. Chekov continued to watch the lights in the hills but they didn’t seem to come any closer.

Turning to the boys he said “Let’s spread out. See if you can find anything that would give us a clue as to what happened or where they have gone. Maybe Korbet kept a journal of some kind. I’ll check his desk.”

“Father. it looks like there was some kind of a struggle here in the dining room. Mr. Korbet’s chair is broken. There’s a knife under it, and this looks like blood on the seat,” Alexi reported.

“There are only five settings on the table. Aren’t there five of those kids?” Sergi asked.
Mr. and Mrs. Korbet would make seven; so two are missing.”

“Maybe they were spending the night with friends.”
“Isn’t there a basement in the house? Come on, Alexi, let’s find it.”

As the young men investigated the back rooms of the house, Anton checked on the glow on the hill. It was gone.

Alexi called out just then. “Here’s the door, in the bedroom. Are you coming, Father?”
When Dr. Chekov arrived, they were already at the bottom of the steps. “Use your flashlight sparingly. It might be seen from outside.” he commented.

As they searched, they found some blankets behind the washing machine; also, some crumbs on one of the overturned boxes.

“There could be rodents down here, Father.” Sergi suggested.

A tiny little voice said “Sergi, is that you?”

“Cid, where are you? Yes, it’s me, Sergi, my brother and my father.”

A young boy of about eight came out from behind some boxes. With him was another little boy, possibly four or five.

“How long have you been here?” asked Dr. Chekov.

“Since those men came.” the one called Cid answered. Tony and I came down here to get Maman some cookies from the big jar for our dessert. There was a terrible noise upstairs. The girls were screaming. My father was shouting. It sounded like the furniture was being thrown around. Then it got real quiet. I thought I heard a car drive away; so I slipped upstairs. There wasn’t anybody there. Later, when it was dark, I brought our blankets down here and we’ve been here ever since.”

“Did the men ever come back?” asked Alexi.

“I thought I heard them once, but they didn’t stay.”

“Well, we’ve seen enough here. Let’s head back to our house. Cid, you and Tony come home with us and we’ll see what we can find out.” Dr. Chekov put his arm around Tony as they climbed the stairs. Cid went ahead with Sergi and Alexi. Dr. Chekov and Tony followed. As they made their way to the back door, the doctor picked up the notebook he had found. Momentarily, he had the feeling that they were being watched; but there was no one in sight.

“How come two settings were missing from the table, Cid? We thought you might be spending the night with friends,” Sergi commented.

“No, we just cleared our dishes away when we got up to go get the cookies, “ Cid answered.

“That may have been a good thing, since the men wouldn’t have known you were still in the house.”

When they arrived at the Chekov’s, the house was dark. As they approached the door, it opened slightly. “I watched you all drive in. Where did you find the children?” Trip asked.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now.” Alexi said. “We found two of the Korbets in their basement.” He went on to tell Trip about their visit.

“Everything’s been quiet here. I did see some eerie blue lights off to the East, but after a while, they went out,” Trip reported.

“Let’s get to bed.” Dr. Chekov said. “Sergi, put the boys in the extra room. Be sure they have enough cover. A glass of milk and some cookies might be good, too.”
As Trip locked the house up for the night, he noticed Dr. Chekov glancing through the book he brought home with him.

“Did you learn anything of importance while you were at the Korbet’s?” Trip asked.

“Nothing specific. I found Vlad’s journal. Listen to this: ‘Couple of men from sheriff’s office came by. Said they were looking for some kids who’ve been swiping things out of the hardware store. Told them I hadn’t seen any kids around here that didn’t belong.’”

“This was entered on Monday of this week. Next entry was on Wednesday. ‘Saw these men again out near the stock pond. They were headed toward the ridge, toward Edward’s place.’ Thursday’s entry is short. ‘I’ve got a strange feelin’ today. The misses needs to call Lar ‘ That’s all there is.”

“You think he wanted her to call Lara?” Trip said.

“Maybe. The page is bent over, like he closed it suddenly.”

“Could you tell if there’d been a van or a big truck there? Seems they would have needed something big to move the whole family.”

“We need to get another look, in the daylight this time.” Dr. Chekov concluded. “Let’s turn in for now.”

Saturday morning Alexi and the Doctor headed for the hospital, detouring by the Korbet place. As they neared the property, they could see men carrying boxes from the house to a waiting truck that was already stacked full. Dr. Chekov slowed down as he neared the gate. He recognized one of the sheriff’s men and called to him.

“What’s goin’ on, Stan?”

Stan gave Dr. Chekov a long look, then said “We’re getting’ the Korbet’s stuff ready to ship, that’s all.”

“Are they moving?”

“Left this week. Got a job near the border. We’re taking care of everything for them. I’ve got to get back to work.” With that he turned and walked toward the house.

Dr. Chekov turned to Alexi saying “We better move on. We’ll talk later.”

While working in the barn, Trip had that feeling of being watched, too. He made several attempts to catch the culprit, but he never was able to see anyone. When he came in for lunch, he asked Lara if she had seen anyone around this morning.

“No.” she answered, sounding worried.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you, just being cautious. I think I’ll drive over to Anna’s tonight and see if she is doing alright. I usually see her on Saturday night; so that’ll look normal.”

Dinner that night was unusually quiet. The little boys had slept most of the day; so they ate quickly and went off to play. Both Katya and Sergi had had very uneventful days at school. Anton then told them about the Korbet’s moving according to the sheriff. No one had much to say after that. After eating Trip left for Anna’s, saying he wouldn’t be too late coming in.

As he drove up in front of her building, he was surprised to see that her floor was all dark. Leaving his car parked on the street, he hurried up to the door of her apartment. He knocked several times – no answer. He reached in his pocket and brought out the key she had given him. Opening the door, he could see the apartment was a shambles – chairs and tables turned over with books and dishes all over the floor. A fierce struggle had taken place here, and there was no sign of Anna! Trip found her purse in the bedroom. Her blanket was gone and there were smudges of blood on the carpet. He ran to the kitchen, but he didn’t find a note or message of any kind. Anger was building within him as he headed for the door.

“What the hell could have happened here.” He said out loud. A figure stepped out of the shadows, but before Trip could make out who it was, he felt the blow to his head from behind.

TBC

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Three people have made comments

Interesting story and I am looking forward to reading more but I do have some questions. Where and what time period is Trip. Also would Trip allow himself and would the others allow him to become involve with a girl when he can't recall his past life. I mean he could have been married, have a family already etc..Liked the cliffhanger for chapter five.

Excellent keep them coming

This story takes place as they are heading home.
TATV never happened!!!!

Since a year has passed and Trip is beginning to accept that he may never remember his past life, he's starting to warm up to his feelings for those around him.